Public Interest

AS PRESIDENT of the Cocoa Village Association, whose main goal is to promote a positive image of Cocoa Village, I do not agree with the message or the actions taken by Bill Roth (who displayed outside the Country Store an effigy of Mayor Dollye Robinson dressed as a Nazi storm trooper).I support Roth's First Amendment rights as an American to express his point of view. I do feel, however, that his recent displays have gone beyond the realm of public interest.We as Cocoa Village merchants are interested in the positive development and atmosphere of Cocoa Village and do not wish to engage in political exhibitions.

Emilio "Sonny" Vergara, 71, is a former director of the St. Johns River Water Management District, which takes in Orlando, and the district covering Tampa Bay. A Marine helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, Vergara regularly takes aim in his blog, http://swfwmdmatters.blogspot.com , at state officials for weakening environmental protections. He recently spoke with Orlando Sentinel writer Kevin Spear . CFB: Gov. Rick Scott's administration slashed budgets of water districts and narrowed their focus.

As of present, Walt Disney World will enjoy the benefits of a bullet train terminal in proximity to its parks. On the other hand, Sea World, Universal and other International Drive businesses will not have the benefits of a bullet train route running through their back yards. Because these businesses cannot have a high-speed rail connection close by, they have helped raise around $1.4 million to market against it. While these big businesses are battling over the bullet train, the public interest has been much at bay. In fact, has there even been public interest in this issue?

Davidson Taylor, a public-relations professional working with the Zora Neale Hurston Festival in Eatonville, wrote this story about the "Question Bridge: Black Males" exhibition, on view as part of the Zora! Festival. The festival is running through Feb. 3, with the big Outdoor Festival of the Arts taking place this weekend. The "Question Bridge: Black Males" exhibition, at the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts, has special events taking place this weekend, too. The museum, known as the Hurston, is at 227 E. Kennedy Blvd., Eatonville.

The visitor from Texas was citing his experiences with backroom politics back home. It was not a pretty story but, knowingly, I nodded. I spent 17 years in the state and could add a few stories of my own.In each county, certain powers-that-be control the courthouse, which controls those in the state house, and in Congress as well. Oh, it's a bit more complex than that, and perhaps no longer as pervasive, but political power continues to be used for personal gain.Banks beholden to politicians, for example, have been known to threaten calls on business loans to keep key people in line.

LONDON -- U.K. news channel Sky News, which is run by News Corp.'s paybox BSkyB, admitted Thursday that it had hacked the emails of members of the public on two occasions, but insisted that its actions were "in the public interest. " Sky News said that it had intercepting the emails of John Darwin, who faked his own death as part of an insurance fraud, and his wife Anne Darwin, as well as hacking into the email accounts of a suspected pedophile and his wife. Sky News said that while one of its senior execs authorised Gerard Tubb, the channel's Northern England correspondent, to hack into emails belonging to the Darwins, the move was in the public's interest and reflected "responsible journalism.

Elected leaders from southwest Volusia County cities are charting a reasonable course for examining whether the area needs a civic center.The public officials, who met Saturday to look at ways to share government services, emphasized that a civic center is an idea for the future.Their careful plan is to survey citizens first to gauge public interest. If interest is found, a consultant would be hired to complete a more detailed feasibility study.By taking these measured steps, the group is showing a vision for southwest Volusia's future.

The public interest is not defined as what is interesting to the public.British Press Complaints Commission Chief Ken Morgan, explaining why the recent publication of nude photos of Prince Andrew could not be justified on the grounds of public interest.

The 2002 congressional elections will be an opportunity for Florida voters to influence the direction of this great nation. However, a review of the past is often the best predictor of the future. Therefore, all voters in Osceola County are urged to access one of the best public-interest-group scorecards on how Rep. Dave Weldon has not worked for the residents in his multiple terms in Congress. The Florida Public Interest Research Group Web site -- www.floridapirg.org -- indicates that the congressman voted for the public interest only 10 percent of the time in 2000 and 2001.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush's educational foundation is "distorting democracy" by shaping state education policies to benefit its private, corporate donors, a public advocacy group charged Wednesday. In the Public Interest posted thousands of emails on its website (http://www.inthepublicinterest.org/node/2747) that it says show how the Foundation for Excellence in Education, sometimes using its affiliated Chiefs for Change group, wrote or influenced legislation that benefited its "corporate funders.

The entertainment cliff Scott Maxwell 's column, "Fat cats get dibs on Amway tickets," on Sunday was revealing. He wrote that the public gets fewer than 15 percent of the tickets for events, and the director of Amway says that's the way it's always done. Certainly, we're not going to wait for the politicians to fix the problem, since they are part of it. The people being hurt, or rather scammed, are mostly the kids and those who can't afford the sky-high prices from scalpers.

TAMPA, Fla. -- As Republican delegates prepare to approve the party's 2012 platform on Tuesday, a new national poll shows that Americans are more interested in what's in that document than they are in Mitt Romney 's and Paul Ryan 's acceptance speeches. Details of the platform have trickled out over the last week, as the Republican National Committee completed the drafting process, but the document has not been made public. Earlier Monday, in an indication that party platforms may do more harm than good, Republican House Speaker John Boehner suggested that the GOP issue a one-page platform. The 2008 edition, more svelte than those of the past, clocked in at 55 pages.

I like Ralph Kuhn's story (My Word: "Sorry if we've missed the government," Orlando Sentinel, Wednesday). He and his bride of 60 years have lived a life filled with responsibility, and have worked hard to achieve whatever success came their way. I have nothing but respect for such a story; yet I think it's missing something important. Kuhn recalls having worked as a firefighter, which is a government job. Ditto for the Marine Corps. If his children went to public schools, they were supported by the government's ability to collect and disburse tax money toward the public good, and those teachers — public employees — needed to be accredited and found "fit to teach" by the state before they could step into a classroom.

LONDON -- U.K. news channel Sky News, which is run by News Corp.'s paybox BSkyB, admitted Thursday that it had hacked the emails of members of the public on two occasions, but insisted that its actions were "in the public interest. " Sky News said that it had intercepting the emails of John Darwin, who faked his own death as part of an insurance fraud, and his wife Anne Darwin, as well as hacking into the email accounts of a suspected pedophile and his wife. Sky News said that while one of its senior execs authorised Gerard Tubb, the channel's Northern England correspondent, to hack into emails belonging to the Darwins, the move was in the public's interest and reflected "responsible journalism.

Just two weeks into their legislative session, Republican lawmakers are speeding reforms through the Capitol intended to clean up some of the foul practices marring Florida's elections. Great, right? Profligate fundraising and spending by pols and often shadowy political groups need fixing, don't they? But slowing down and getting their legislation right's a better course of action than signing off so quickly on changes to campaign practices that would likely serve entrenched political interests more than the public.

I am writing today after hearing the news of a planned piece of legislation that intends to take on the debt of several financial institutions. Without a doubt, the economy is in trouble. I believe we would all be remiss in our duty as Americans if we did not come to a solution on how to approach this complicated issue. On its face, I would not charge a piece of legislation that had taken a mere day to author with the colossal responsibility of saving the economic world from a fate that took years to realize.

I don't understand your confusion with Gov. Charlie Crist's appointees to the airport board. People are appointed to positions based upon the level of devotion (expressed monetarily, of course) that they have expressed to our rulers. There is no need for the appointees to have any knowledge or understanding of the affairs that their appointed position oversees. In fact, it is best that they maintain complete ignorance of the matters at hand. They are consequently required -- all, of course, in the public interest -- to contract for "consulting services" in order to conduct their business properly.